Theories of the Family Flashcards
1
Q
The nuclear family is universal and the best type of family for individuals within the family and society.
A
Murdock (1949)
Functionalist
2
Q
What are Murdock 4 key functions of the family?
A
- Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
- Reproduction
- Socialisation
- Economic
3
Q
Who created the functional fit theory?
A
Parsons (1951) - Functionalist
4
Q
Parsons saw the nuclear family in industrial society having what two functions?
A
- The stabilisation of adult personalities
- Primary socialisation
5
Q
Who conducted 40 in-depth interviews with housewives in London?
A
Oakley (1974) - Liberal feminist
6
Q
What did Oakley find out about women & housework?
A
- Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework
- Only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare.
7
Q
Did Oakley argue for or against the idea that the division of labour in the home was equal.
A
Against
8
Q
Who & why does she describe women as the takers of shit?
A
- Ansley (1972) - Marxist feminist
- Workers experience alienation. The emotional support provided by the wife provides a safety
valve for the frustration of the husband. This frustration is absorbed by the wife, rather than being turned on the capitalists.
9
Q
Who’s solution to patriarchy is separatism & what is it?
A
Greer (2000) - Radical feminist
The creation of female-only households.
10
Q
What do patriarchal societies such as the UK today still expect women to be according to Greer?
A
To be subservient to their husbands
11
Q
According to Greer how is the role of the mother valued?
A
Undervalued as the needs of the child are put first.
12
Q
Who believes that the main cause of gender inequality is the biological fact of childbirth?
A
Fire stone (1970) - Radical feminist
13
Q
How does childbirth cause inequality?
A
It puts women at a physical disadvantage to men.
14
Q
What is Firestones solution to stopping gender inequality?
A
We need to develop an artificial womb so that women have the choice to be free from the biological necessity of childbirth, which would free them from the biological disadvantage that they currently face.
15
Q
Who believed that Family diversity is permanent & what does this mean?
A
Stacey (1996) - Postmodernist
There is no one dominant family type.
16
Q
What did Stacey find out when they Researched family life in California in the 1980s?
A
Dotty and Pam moved away from living in traditional nuclear families because they were unhappy in their marriages, and created alternative family structures.
17
Q
How does Murdock’s “The stabalisation of the sex drive” function of the family benefit individuals in the family?
A
Maintains a close bond between the couple, reduced
conflict.
18
Q
How does Murdock’s “The stabalisation of the sex drive” function of the family benefit society?
A
Couples are less likely to separate = less dysfunctional family types such as lone-parent
19
Q
How does Murdock’s “Reproduction” function of the family benefit individuals in the family?
A
Makes the family unit complete and gives the mother a purpose. Continues family bloodline – adult children support parents when elderly.
20
Q
How does Murdock’s “Reproduction” function of the family benefit society?
A
Repopulate society – needed to fulfil roles in the economy.
21
Q
How does Murdock’s “Primary Socialisation” function of the family benefit individuals in the family?
A
A stable environment in which to adequately socialised children into the norms and values of society. Benefits parents – gives them a role.
22
Q
How does Murdock’s “Primary Socialisation” function of the family benefit society?
A
Social order is maintained in society, as children internalise society’s norms and values.
23
Q
How does Murdock’s “economic” function of the family benefit individuals?
A
Ensures that family members are provided for e.g. have food, clothing, resources
24
Q
How does Murdock’s “economic” function of the family benefit society?
A
Ensures that there is a breadwinner in the family, which is important for the functioning of society.
25
Explain Parson's "Primary socialisation" function of the family
Teaching children the norms, values and skills necessary to integrate into society.
26
Explain Parson's "The stabilisation of adult personalities" function of the family
The nuclear family is a place where adults can relax and release tension so that they can return to work refreshed – functional for the economy. This is also referred to as the ‘warm bath theory.’
27
According to Parson's what was families like in pre-industrial societies?
- Main family type was extended
- Family performed many functions e.g. healthcare, education, religious teaching, economic production & consumption
- Status was ascribed at birth
28
According to Parson's what are families like in industrial societies?
- Main family type was nuclear
- Family only performs two
functions: socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities
- Status was achieved
29
What are two reasons for change from the extended to nuclear families according to Parsons?
- Geographical mobility
- Social mobility
30
What are two reasons from the 20th century which has caused the change to nuclear families according to Parsons
- The welfare state replaced many functions
- Increased wealth and leisure time made the nuclear family an attractive place to spend time
31
How would feminists evaluate the functionalist theories of the family?
The family does not benefit all its members – women are exploited within the family.
32
How would postmodernists evaluate the functionalist theories of the family?
Functionalist views of the nuclear family are out of date as there are now many diverse family types.
33
How would marxists evaluate the functionalist theories of the family?
The family benefits the ruling class and not all members of society
34
What is Engels overall theory on the role of the family?
The inheritance of property and wealth
35
According to Engels what was the family like in primitive communism?
- No such thing as the nuclear family
- No such thing as monogamous relationships
- The means of production were communally owned
36
According to Engels how did society developing change the role of the family?
- Wealth increased which led to a class of men owning wealth and production
- The men wanted to ensure wealth remained in the family so monogamous relationships and the nuclear family developed in order to achieve this.
37
According to Engels how has the state played a role in the inheritance of property and wealth through the nuclear family?
- They created laws to protect families
- Couples were required to marry
- Laws protect the inheritance rights of males
38
How would postmodernists evaluate Engels theory of role of the family? (4 bullet points)
- Engels’ theory is out of date.
- Many people today do not marry, but instead choose to cohabit.
- The nuclear family is just one of many different types of family.
- Inheritance laws have changed to reflect this also.
39
What is Zaretsky's overall theory on the role of the family?
The family cushions the effects of capitalism
40
Explain how the family cushions the effects of capitalism
- Working class men experience alienation at work
- The family is a place of sanctuary where men can relax, feel valued and enjoy a personal life.
- The family therefore cushions the brutality and exploitation of capitalism.
41
Is the cushioning the effects of capitalism a bad thing according to Zaretsky?
- Yes
- Workers remain in a state of false class conciousness
- This prevents the working class from expressing their anger at capitalism as it is lessened by the cushioning effects of the family which maintains capitalism.
42
How would feminists evaluate Zaretsky's theory of the role of the family?
- Women in the family cushion the brutality and exploitation of the capitalist system
- Ansley "women as takers of shit"
- Marxists ignore gender inequalities within the family.
43
What is Althusser's overall theory on the role of the family?
The family transmits ruling class ideology
44
According to Althusser is the family a part of the ideological state apparatus or repressive state apparatus?
- Ideological state apparatus
- This is the most effective way in which the ruling class maintain power as the working class don't realise they are being influenced
45
According to Althusser what does the family encourage the working class to become and how does this benefit capitalism?
- Obedient and subservient to authority
- E.g Children learn to obey their parents and get used to the idea that there is always someone in authority they need to obey which prepares them for work in a capitalist society
- Obvedient workers are more productive then rebellious ones
46
How would functionalist evaluate Althusser's theory of the role of the family?
The family transmits society’s shared values and norms, which is beneficial for all.
47
Marxists would argue that the family is a unit of consumption which generates profits of capitalists. What 3 ways do capitalist companies taget the family?
- False needs where they encourage families to buy new products, suggesting they bring happiness and make life easier
- Advertisers target children, who use pester power to pressure parents into spending more.
- Children without the latest goods face stigma, increasing parental pressure.
48
How would functionalists evaluate the Marxist theory of the family that the family is a unit of consumption?
The nuclear family plays an important role in maintaining the economy, as the economic provider (male) must participate in the economy to support his family financially.
49
Name the 4 marxist theories & theorists (where necessary) on the role of the family.
- Engels: The inheritance of property and wealth through the nuclear family
- Zaretsky: The family cushions the effects of capitalism
- Althusser: The family transmits ruling class ideology
- The family is a unit of consumption
50
What are the three types of feminism in the theories of the family topic?
- Liberal feminists
- Marxist feminists
- Radical feminists
51
What are the 3 key ideas of liberal feminists?
- Equal rights for women can best be achieved through campaigning for gradual reform and changes in the law.
- Aim to achieve equal rights for women in the workplace and remove discrimination.
- This would enable women to make a choice between motherhood, a career or a combination of both.
52
What are the 2 key ideas of liberal feminists within the family?
- Want equality in the domestic division of
labour
- Want to change the gender socialisation
patterns so that there is equality in the ways that boys and girls are raised by parents.
53
What are the 3 key ideas of liberal feminists within work?
- Equality in maternity and paternity leave
- Better and cheaper childcare to allow women to return to work.
- Laws which establish equal pay
54
How would radical feminists evaluate liberal feminists aims in change in the family?
They fail to challenge the deeply rooted patriarchal structures that exist in society.
55
How would Marxist feminists evaluate liberal feminists aims in change in the family?
Women can't achive equality until the capitalist system is abolished
56
What are marxist feminist 2 key ideas?
- The main cause of women’s oppression within the family is not men, but capitalism.
- Women in the family support the capitalist system
57
According to marxist feminists what 2 ways do women within the family support the capitalist system?
- The reproduction of labour for the capitalists
- Women in the family cushion the suffering experienced in the capitalist system
58
Explain the marxist feminist idea that women support the capitalist system by reproducing labour?
- Women reproduce children within the family
- Women carry out free domestic labour.
- Mothers socialise children into the ruling
class ideas that keep capitalism going
59
How would radical feminists evaluate marxists feminist ideas on the family?
Women’s oppression by men is much more important than class differences
60
How would postmoderninsts evaluate the marxist feminist ideas on the family?
- Wrongly assume that all families are
nuclear in which the husband is the main
earner.
- This view is arguably now outdated.
61
What are radical feminists 4 key ideas on the family?
- The family and marriage are the key institutions of patriarchy in society.
- The most important division in society is between men and women.
- Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services.
- Men dominate women in the family through domestic & sexual violence / the threat of it.
62
What is the radical feminist Greer's overall idea?
Family life continues to disadvantage and oppress women.
63
According to Greer how does the family life continues to disadvantage and oppress women as wives?
- A strong ideology continues that being a wife is the most important female role.
- Yet the role of wife is not rewarding.
- Many women remain subservient to their husbands.
64
According to Greer how does the family life continues to disadvantage and oppress women as mothers?
- Motherhood is still not valued by society.
- For example, during childbirth, medical attention focuses on the wellbeing of the baby, while the mother’s health is secondary.
65
How would liberal feminists evaluate radical feminists theories and views on the family?
- Fail to recognise the progress made towards gender equality.
- Separatism is unlikely to work, due to heterosexual attraction between men and women.
66
How would difference feminists evaluate radical feminists theories and views on the family?
- Assume all women share similar experiences of feminism
- Ignore intersectionality and how women have different experiences of oppression
67
In what 2 ways are the Personal Life Perspective different from structural perspectives?
1. Doesn't assume that the nuclear family is the dominant family type
2. Doesn't assume that the family influences our behaviour but believes that we have choice in creating our family relationships and the role that we play in the family.
68
What are Smart's 2 key points on the family?
- Sociologists need to understand the meanings that each individual relationships that they have with others in the family
- All kinds of relationships may be meaningful and important
69
What are the 5 types of relationships that may be meaningful and important according to the PLP?
- Relationships with friends who may be ‘like a sister’.
- Fictive kin: close friends who are treated as relatives, e.g calling a family friend auntie or uncle
- Gay and lesbian ‘chosen families’ made up of a supportive network of close friends, ex-partners and others, who are not related by blood or marriage.
- Relationships with dead relatives who live in on people’s memories and continue to shape their identities and affect their actions
- Relationships with pets. Tipper 2011 found that children frequently saw their
pets as ‘part of the family.’
70
What was Nordqvist & Smart's sociological research called?
Relative Strangers: Family life, genes and donor conception
71
How did Nordqvist & Smart conduct their research?
- Unstructured interviews with 119 participants who had donor-conceived children.
- Some heterosexual couples that could not conceive, and some lesbian couples.
72
What did Nordqvist & Smart find that the parents emphasised?
- Importance of social relationships over genetic ones.
- E.g. the mother of an egg donor-conceived child, defined being a mum in terms of the time and effort she put into raising her daughter
73
What concerns did Nordqvist & Smart find?
- Concerns remained amongst parents over the donor’s identity, particularly if the donor was known to the parents.
- Parents sometimes questioned to what extent were they and other genetic siblings ‘family’?
74
What did Nordqvist & Smart find an additional problem was for lesbian couples?
Concerns about equality between the genetic and non-genetic mothers.
75
List 3 strengths of the Personal Life Perspective
- Helps us understand how people construct and define their relationships, rather than imposing traditional definitions of the family.
- Recognises that ‘relatedness’ is not always positive e.g. people may be trapped in unhappy / abusive relationships.
- Look at the small scale relationships between people within families, rather than looking at how the family fits into society as a whole.
76
List 3 weaknesses of the Personal Life Perspective.
- Takes too broad of a view
- Focuses on uncommon aspects of personal life, most people continue to live in ‘families’ and have particular attachments to blood relatives.
- Ignores the ways in which the family interacts with other institutions in society.
77
What are the 3 key ideas of Postmodernism & the Family
- Nuclear family is being replaced by a range of different relationships and family types
- Family diversity is permanent
- Individuals can make their own choices in personal relationships and for their own identities
78
What does 5 key points does Postmodernist Stacey argue?
- In Western societies, families are varied, constantly changing & lack a fixed shape or structure.
- Elements of traditional family life might still exist, but they exist alongside new features.
- Family diversity is permanent and social attitudes will have to adjust to this diversity
- The postmodern family can create a degree of unsettling instability.
- Greater family diversity is a positive development towards more equal and democratic family relationships
79
What 4 things did Postmodernist Stacey find out about gay and lesbian relationships?
- Gay and lesbian families are often victims of prejudice
- This has forced gay people to create family forms that best suit their circumstances.
- Gay and lesbian families include people outside the nuclear family such as single people.
- Gay and lesbian families have also asserted their right to more conventional aspects of family such as lesbian women claiming custody of their children or having same-sex marriages recognised
80
List 2 strengths of Postmodernism & the family
- Strong evidence to support greater family diversity today
- Takes a more liberal and positive approach to a broad range of family types and promotes inclusivity.
81
How do functionalists evaluate Stacey's view of the extent of family diversity?
Functionalists argue that Stacey has exaggerated the extent of family diversity today
82
How do the New Right and functionalists evaluate Stacey's view on family diversity being positive?
Reject Stacey’s view that all family types are equally beneficial to society and their members, arguing that the nuclear family IS the best family type for bringing up children.
83
Nuclear family
A married couple and their children who live together.
84
Reconstituted family
A family in which one or both partners have been previously married, or living as a cohabiting couple, and bring with them children of a previous relationship. Also known as stepfamily.
85
Extended family
Family beyond the traditional nuclear family, incorporating aunts, uncles and grandparents, living in the same household or close by.
86
One parent family / lone parent family
A family consisting of one parent and their child /children.
87
Same sex family
A couple of the same sex living with their child or children
88
Household
A person or group of people that live at the same address and share at least one meal a day or facilities such as a living room.
89
Primary socialisation
The teaching of norms, values, skills and beliefs to children within the family.
90
Geographical mobility
The movement of people from one location to another.
91
Social mobility
The movement of groups or individuals up or down the social hierarchy / social class system.
92
Primitive communism
An early type of society in which the means of production were communally owned
93
Monogamous
Marriage to one person at a time
94
Inheritence
The passing of property or wealth down the family line
95
Alienation
When workers lack power and control at work and feel detached from the work that they do, or the items them produce
96
False class consciousness
When the working class do not realise that they are being exploited and cannot recognise their own class interests
97
Ruling class ideology
The ideas and beliefs of the ruling class that help to maintain capitalism
98
Ideological state apparatus
Institutions which spread the ruling class ideology and justify the power of the ruling class.
99
Commodity
A product that can be bought and sold
100
Pester power
The idea that children continually ask their parents to buy products that they see advertised or that their peers have.
101
Patriarchy
The systems of male power and authority that operate to disadvantage women in society.
102
Domestic labour
Work performed in the home e.g. childcare, cooking, clearning
103
Gender socialisation
The process by which children learn the norms and behaviours associated with their gender
104
Sex discrimination
The unequal treatment of an individual because of their sex / gender.
105
Personal life
The most meaningful parts of people’s lives which involve relationships with other people they are close to.
